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An Analysis of the Growth Inhibitory Characteristics of Alachlor and Metolachlor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Luanne M. Deal  and
F. D. Hess
Luanne M. Deal
Affiliation:
Dep. Bot. and Plant Pathol., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907
F. D. Hess
Affiliation:
Dep. Bot. and Plant Pathol., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907
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Abstract

The effects of varying concentrations and duration of alachlor [2-chloro-2′,6′diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl)acetanilide] and metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] treatment on root growth, cell division, and cell enlargement were studied. Peas (Pisum sativum L. ‘Alaska’) and oats (Avena sativa L. ‘Victory’) were treated from 0 to 48 h with concentrations ranging from 1 × 10-8 to 1 × 10-3 M of each herbicide. After 48 h, average growth rates were significantly inhibited at concentrations of 1 × 10-7 M alachlor and 5 × 10−8 M metolachlor, and 5 × 10−7 M alachlor and 1 × 10-6 M metolachlor for peas and oats, respectively. When growth inhibitions were examined across time at concentrations greater than these, the degree of growth inhibition was a function of both concentration and duration of treatment. Often the greatest decrease in growth occurred between 0 and 12 h. Mitotic indices of root tip squashes from pea roots and paraffin sections from oat roots were determined. There was a significant reduction in the mitotic indices of pea roots treated for 48 h with 5 × 10−6 M alachlor or 1 × 10-5 M metolachlor. After a 30-h treatment, the mitotic indices of oat roots were significantly reduced by 1 × 10−7 M metolachlor and 1 × 10−6 M alachlor. Significant inhibition of elongation of etiolated oat coleoptiles were observed at 5 × 10−6 M alachlor (27%) and 5 × 10−5 M metolachlor (30%). Inhibition of pea hypocotyl elongation did not occur at concentrations below 5 × 10−4 M. It was concluded that the growth inhibition of plants caused by alachlor and metolachlor results from both an inhibition of cell division and cell enlargement.

Keywords

Cell divisioncell enlargementchloracetamidesherbicide
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , March 1980 , pp. 168 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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